Putting on a show for others

One of the questions we were left with at the end of class on Tuesday was one that has always struck me. Is everything you do a type of performance?

To me, I would have to say 80% of the time, yes and 20% no. Usually for class, I try to most importantly perform to the best of my ability for the teacher and then because I want my classmates also to think I am somewhat intelligent. Like someone else mentioned in class, our papers for our teachers are performances in a way, too. How we dress and present ourselves in class is another type of thing we do that shows that everything is a performance. If a student is attentive and shows respect towards others and the teacher, she will portray a much better image than one that is sleeping and shows no class participation.

Out of the classroom and in social environments, I would agree that that is its own performance as well. If your just sitting in a corner all alone and not socializing it does not give off the same type of vibe as if you were up and about talking amongst others.

With parents or siblings, there is always competition. Brothers and sisters, or sisters and sisters or brothers and brothers are always wanting to do better than the other. There is most of the time a want from children to perform to their best of their abilities to impress their parents. Sometimes this is not the case, but also if the child is lazy or just unmotivated that would be a type of performance as well. They are showing their parents they do not care about the particular thing.

So when asked the question is everything you do type of performance, I would have to agree. Do any of you ever have to compete or put on a performance for your parents? or teachers? or siblings?